What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

recent posts (search bar on main page for about a gazillion more)

I could talk about myself for ages, or I could point out that https://english.radio.cz/ed-ley-englishman-recording-stories-pragues-streets-one-one-8806941 is over two years old but still largely stands (other than the Twitter links).

Category: Habsburgs

  • Prague 4, day 6: Otakarova

    Otakarova was built in 1900. Přemysl Otakar II was born in or around 1233, the son of Václav I, who had been King of Bohemia since 1230, and his wife, Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen. His older brother, Vladislav, became Margrave of Moravia and Duke of Austria in 1246, but died suddenly in 1247, probably of natural…

  • Prague 1, day 267: Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square)

    Originally published on X on 25 June 2024. This was an important area for centuries – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/10/prague-1-day-183-kralodvorska/, for example – but, as the border between the Old Town and the New Town, it was long dominated by a moat, then by the city walls. The square was constructed in the 1860s, at the same…

  • Prague 1, day 254: Štefánikův most

    Originally published on X on 12 June 2024. Milan Rastislav Štefánik was born in Košariská, a village nowadays in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia, in 1880. He was the son of an evangelical priest, Pavol Štefánik, who raised his children to be interested in Slovak history and culture. Leaving his village at nine, he went…

  • Prague 1, day 211: náměstí Jana Palacha

    Originally published on X on 27 April 2024. Originally, this area was called Rejdiště (more on that in a few days); the square came into being in the 1870s and was called Na Rejdišti. During WW1, it was named náměstí císařovny Zity after Zita of Bourbon-Parma (1892-1989), the final Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.…

  • Prague 1, day 106: Národní (‘National’)

    Originally published on X on 7 January 2024. Until 1781, there was a moat here, which had the somewhat inconvenient effect of separating the Old Town and the New Town. Therefore, it was decided to fill the ditch and create a street in its place. Originally called Nové Aleje (New Avenue), this later turned into…

  • Prague 1, day 57: Mánesův most

    Originally published on X on 2 November 2023. I’m going to be mildly lazy now and point you towards Vinohrady: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/18/prague-2-day-11-manesova/ The bridge was meant to replace Rudolf’s Footbridge (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-56-u-zelezne-lavky/), and was meant to be named after him too. However, when it opened in March 1914, it was called the Archduke Franz Ferdinand Bridge, for…

  • Prague 1, day 56: U Železné lávky

    Originally published on X on 1 November 2023. Street name translates as ‘By the Iron Bridge’. Before 1868, Prague only had two bridges across the Vltava. Other than the very famous one which is still there, there was the Emperor Francis I Bridge, which isn’t. It was built in 1841, and replaced in 1898 (there’ll…